N-Gage 2 Pictures Show Evolution Of Handheld? 53
Roger Ramjet writes "Fan site NGageGaming has reposted a couple of leaked images of
what appears to be Nokia's N-Gage 2 phone/gaming handheld hybrid. While the device is similar to the
original N-Gage, the keyboard and look has been redesigned, and on the
flip side of the phone/gaming device may possibly be space for a camera." Apparently, Nokia "...is expected to have a major press event on April 14 to showcase the upgraded version", and the same fansite is also reporting on the woes of current N-Gage software support, mentioning that "Taito Memories and Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer have both been 'delayed' for N-Gage release."
Well that looks better (Score:2, Interesting)
I don't see any evidence of a game slot. Still removing the battery?
I also don't see any evidence that Nokia has got a clue what they're doing, actually.
Nope, I'm guessing a bust.
Well......... (Score:3, Funny)
Nope, I'm guessing a bust.
It all hinges on one thing........
Are they still side-talkin' [sidetalking.com]?
Re:Well......... (Score:1)
Re:Well that looks better (Score:2)
A step in the right direction, but... (Score:2, Interesting)
It'll still come down to whether or not they've got the developers, games, and draw to get the crowd onto their system.
Re:A step in the right direction, but... (Score:2, Informative)
I don't think it matters anymore... (Score:5, Insightful)
The N-Gage is, for the most part, a joke. People who have them or have used them have a laundry list of complaints about the system. News articles have been anything but positive. Even those gamers who've yet to see or touch an N-Gage still mock it, simply because everyone else does.
Even though it looks like most of the design issues have been fixed, people aren't going to buy it simply because it's an N-Gage.
I'd love to be proven wrong - I'd like to see a competitor for my GBA - but I think that this is doomed to failure because of its predecessor.
Re:I don't think it matters anymore... (Score:2)
But I'm not going to pay $200 or $300 for a phone that has a handfull of games none of which are supposed to be any more than "not bad". If the games are there, you have a chance at getting buye
Re:I don't think it matters anymore... (Score:1)
Re:I don't think it matters anymore... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I don't think it matters anymore... (Score:3, Insightful)
What they need is a fresh start. Oh, and some decent hardware, of course.
Re:I don't think it matters anymore... (Score:2)
Taco phone (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Taco phone (Score:2)
You cannot hold a taco that way! (Score:1, Funny)
The only reason anyone ever says you hold it like a taco is that it looks like a taco. If it were indeed held like a taco, you would hold it in front of you, pointing at your head. That would be a much worse way for the phone to work
Rugged up? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Rugged up? (Score:1, Troll)
Re:Rugged up? (Score:1)
Well, i live in a city with almost 20k population.. no, it is has not been a problem in bigger cities either.
It's illegal in Finland to talk to your cellphone and drive if you are not using hands-free.
Re:Rugged up? (Score:2)
Aluminum salesman: "Here, use this."
Scotty: (Holding the mouse up to his mouth like a microphone) "Hello, computer!"
N-Gage usage tracked (Score:4, Interesting)
Does anyone else see a problem with this?
Re:N-Gage usage tracked (Score:2)
Re:N-Gage usage tracked (Score:2)
This is an improvement? (Score:1, Flamebait)
And am I the only one shocked that there's such a thing as an "N-Gage fan site" out there?
Re:This is an improvement? (Score:3, Funny)
> there's such a thing as an "N-Gage
> fan site" out there?
Do you know the difference between "grassroots" and "astroturf"? I would not be surprised if Nokia gives them money. But then again, some people love the weirdest junk...
Re:This is an improvement? (Score:2)
Confusion, and contradiction (Score:2, Insightful)
and
so we're gonna take a stab in the dark here and guess that Nokia have upped the specs on N-Gage 2!
So.. uhhh... they didn't change the hardware, yet they upped the specs... so either they overclocked an original NGage, or there is bad reporting going on and they really did upgrade the hardware. can someone make sense of this?
Re:Confusion, and contradiction (Score:3, Insightful)
"you look in the bottom left of the display you will see "CAMERA", so we're gonna take a stab in the dark here and guess that Nokia have upped the specs on N-Gage 2"
Meaning they added a camera so the ngage 2 will have more features.
Yearly Models v. Bidecade Models (Score:5, Interesting)
If Nokia has anything going for it in the console/handheld industry, and I'll admit it doesn't have much at this point, it's that they can put out a new model every year. That's something Nintendo can't quite manage, and Sony keeps pushing their date back. Cellphone manufacturers, on the other hand, are perhaps the best equipped industry in the world to change models and revamp the factories every year for new designs. While I can't say that this design is anywhere near where Nokia needs to be, at least they're making progress incrementally. You can't sidetalk, and it looks like you put the cartridge in the bottom. By the time the PSP actually hits stateside, the N-Gage 4 or 5 or 6 might be something to look into.
Maybe.
Re:Yearly Models v. Bidecade Models (Score:5, Insightful)
For a basic cellphone (I'm excluding smartphones), users really don't install new software. A typical user just uses the phone out of the box. In this scenario, more models means more choices for the consumer, and the support costs should scale about linearly to the number of models available.
The N-Gage is not targeted for this kind of market. The N-Gage requires games--third-party software titles--that users are responsible for purchasing and installing. Now you have to worry about compatibility:
If decide that you do want backwards and forwards compatibility, the testing and support costs can increase geometrically as the number of models increases.
There are some good reasons for consoles to have somewhat long lives: they provide a stable market for consumers and a stable target for developers. Unless they plan things out very carefully (and given some of the design flaws of the first N-Gage, I wouldn't count on Nokia to do that), saturating the market with too many hardware variations could have too many potential pitfalls.
Re:Yearly Models v. Bidecade Models (Score:2)
Oh, I should add that I'm talking about variations to the underlying hardware.
If you're talking about changes to aesthetics and form-factor, then there's no problem there. But really, those are things that Nokia should be able to get mostly right with usability testing and design heuristics, well before the manufacturing process.
Re:Yearly Models v. Bidecade Models (Score:2)
Re:Yearly Models v. Bidecade Models (Score:3, Interesting)
"With N-Gage Technology." They basically turn ALL (or many) or their phones into "N-Gages". They would all have the same tech specs (screen, processor, memory available to the game) so they all play the exact same games. The differences would be in form factor (one that is a tad harder to
Re:Yearly Models v. Bidecade Models (Score:1)
If sony or nintendo did release a new console every year only a few people would buy it every year while everybody else is stuck with the old system. Game makers would then have to decide which console to develop the game for. My guess is they would go for the old system
Hold on - there's an N-Gage fansite? (Score:3, Interesting)
Symbian OS? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Symbian OS? (Score:2)
The current N-Gage runs Symbian, as do most of Nokia's high-end phones, so it's pretty safe to assume that the N-Gage 2 will run Symbian as well.
Re:Symbian OS? (Score:2)
The 3650 is a rocking phone (even with the rotary dialpad)... if you don't have an unlimited data plan, you're missing out on a lot of cool functionality.
And yes, you can assume the nGage2 will use Symbian as well. Maybe a newer version, but I would think backward compatabi
Nokia's plan all along? (Score:1)
For some reason, I keep thinking of Coke & the fiasco with Coke 2 in the 80s: releasing a sucky product to remind everyone how much better the "classic" product is.
Screen in Portrait ? (Score:2)
Obligatory (Score:4, Informative)
Side talkin' [sidetalking.com]
Re:Obligatory (Score:1)
Yeah, well... (Score:1)
N-DeadHorse 2 (Score:1)
Take a hint from Nintendo: buyers appreciate longevity. I don't want to replace hardware every 6 months (unless it's in my bleeding-edge PC workstation). Sell ONE good platform that's ready for the future, keep on churning out software titles for years to come, reaping massive royalties over time, and then when you've done it all, start over with a fresh hardware platform t
Not the first pictures of N2 (Score:1)
Um..... (Score:1, Redundant)
I'm a happy N-Gage user.. (Score:2, Insightful)
..even though it has its flaws. Or, flaw. Which is the game slot thing. Sidetalking isn't, the device comes with a good hands-free set I find myself using all the time.
Yes, NG is worse for gaming than the gaming-only devices. But, it's a good phone, good mp3 player, good radio, wap&www and even an irc platform. My guess is Nokia never tried to beat gameboy, they intended to make a phone that's good for gaming, not the other way round.
Certainly, if your main concern about electronics is that you migh